Interview with Iwalani Farfour, October 6, 2016

Partial Transcript: How did you get into farming?

Segment Synopsis: Farfour describes how her interest in farming developed, noting how her focus changed from ornamental plants to growing food for consumption. She talks about the Collective Harvest cooperative, which consists of the three original farms (Frontfield, Diamond Hill, and Full Moon), as well as two additional members. Farfour describes how production is coordinated between the farms through a bidding process on the percentages of a crop to grow for the season. She recalls the state of her farm plot when she bought it, and improvements she has made since then.

Keywords: Athens Farmers Market; Center for Agro-Ecology and Sustainable Food Systems; Full Moon Farms; agriculture cooperative; coop; food crops; horticulture; organic farming; planting

Partial Transcript: How do you know Carter and Jacqui?

Segment Synopsis: Farfour chronicles the beginnings of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, mentioning other vendors such as Jacqueline Coburn and Alex Rilko of Front Field Farm and John Carter of Harvest Moon Garden. She talks about how she inherited the operation of the existing CSA when she bought Full Moon farms. She also describes how original member farms modeled the Collective Harvest CSA after the procedures of a North Carolina CSA.

Keywords: implementation; organization structure

Partial Transcript: Could you tell a difference in the vegetables produced from just looking at your three farms?

Segment Synopsis: Farfour describes how different factors affect supply and demand for crops, and mentions how farms benefit from restaurant sales but face loss when consumer demand at the farmers' market wanes after the spring season.

Keywords: advertising; customer base; market competition; marketing; supply and demand; word of mouth

Partial Transcript: So let's talk about the restaurant aspect. How would Collective Harvest as an organization go about dealing with restaurants?

Segment Synopsis: Farfour describes the relationship between the Collective Harvest CSA and the restaurants it supplies. She mentions that a CSA can provide a greater variety of product to restaurants as compared to an individual farm.

Keywords: chefs; farm to table; fresh food; partnership; restaurants

Partial Transcript: Are there any times that a farm might face difficulties in reaching a bid they set forth?

Segment Synopsis: Farfour describes dealing with situations of producing too much or not enough product. She talks about donating food to the Food Bank, and notes how the the main problem is not overproduction but rather being unable to meet customer demand.

Keywords: food bank; food waste; market dynamics; risk; supply and demand

Partial Transcript: So I know that the bids happen each season.

Segment Synopsis: Farfour comments on how Collective Harvest decides what to plant each season. She mentions the formation of the winter CSA, which lasts from January-February. Farfour describes the importance of the CSA in reminding people of the connection to their food.

Keywords: Collective Harvest; community engagement; decision-making; local food movement; organization; planting; winter crops